All Things in Time
by SadEyedLadyoftheLowlands
Summary: Its been awhile since Denny died...and Jane just can't seem to get over it. Strangely enough neither can Ace... Ace/Jane
1. The Autumn Chill

**All things in time…**

Written by: SadEyedLadyoftheLowlands

Chapter 1

Jane Myers sat on the bleachers of Castle Rock High School. Her mind drifted off as she watched the football team practice. This time, without Denny. It was so strange now. The way life kept on going—rushing forward—and Denny remained in her mind as he was when he died—he would always be the same now she realized, he was frozen in time.

She didn't cry much anymore. The first couple months she didn't know how she could live anymore. Denny and her hadn't dated that long before the accident—never said I love you, but it still hurt more than anything had hurt before.

She still remembered the day she found out Denny liked her. She'd crushed on him for months, mooning over him in the hallway, and going to every football game. One day her best friend Susan Jones , a beautiful cheerleader, had approached her at half-time explaining how Denny LaChance had just told her he liked Jane, a girl who'd previously considered herself mousy and ordinary with brown hair and brown eyes.

Denny would pick her up for dates in his boss car, and take her to the diner, and they'd hold hands and make eyes at each other. One night, they even went to make out point! Denny had made Jane feel like she was somebody, and then as quick as that feeling had filled her heart, Denny was gone.

The wind chilled her. It was a cool October afternoon and it was getting late. Jane had to get home to take care of her little brother. She tightened her sweater around her body, shivering slightly. As she walked away, she could hear the sounds of football getting further in the distance, until like Denny, the sounds had drifted away.

--

Ace Merrill stood leaning against his car, puffing coolly on a cigarette. The scowl on his face seemed permanently etched as he waited for Billy and Eyeball to as he put it it "Hurry the fuck up and get out here".

The tight corners of his mouth softened a bit as he saw Jane Myers walk by across the street. She'd sure let herself go, he thought. But then again, she always was a little plain.

There was a time, in both their childhoods, when Ace and Jane used to chase each other around in the yard, and push each other in the mud. They'd play cops and robbers and sneak into Milo Pressman's junkyard and leave little presents for him (cough Dog Poop cough). Ace was always a little asshole, but he used to be a good friend. Of course, Jane used to be cool. She used to be a tomboy and a rebel…but that was ages ago, when they were 10 and naïve, and boys and girls didn't like each other that way. This was before Ace noticed girls and girls noticed Ace. And most of all, this was before Jane became a stuffy, plain Jane, and… before she grew boobs. You see now there was a barrier between them, and their childhood adventures were like past lives or something.

As Ace noticed Jane, she glanced in his direction, lingering a bit longer than with anyone else, and Ace shifted his weight. Denny LaChance was a bastard, he thought. How dare he be who he was and die so young, so that those who already praised his every bowel movement would worship him for all eternity? He knew Jane would build him up in her mind as the be all and end all of human existence—that their cheesy high school romance was an epic romantic tragedy. It was a pity he thought, because she wasn't that bad. She could still be someone else's piece of ass.

"Jane!" Ace called slowly and deliberately, sneering at her. She turned towards him, and looked as if she was examining him. He walked towards her, arms above his head as if surrendering.

"Where you going, Jane?" he asked in a sing-songy voice, one which made her spine tingle with some feeling that was either dread or excitement.

"Home." She said flatly, frowning at Ace.

"Want a ride?" He asked, seemingly innocently, but Jane looked at him suspiciously.

"What the hell do you want, Ace?" She asked disinterestedly, pulling her sweater tightly around her frame again. He gave her a "Who me?" look and she sighed.

"Come on or I'll push you in the mud, Jane." He taunted, looking her up and down, smirking in the trademark Ace way. She looked at him strangely and then proceeded to pull a small bit of leaf off of his leather jacket

"Why are you talking to me?" She asked impatiently, shivering even more.

"Because you have breasts…" he said, unsure if joking or not. Jane pushed him lightly and Ace snickered turning on his heels jumping into his car, and with a screech pulling up next to Jane.

"Get in." He commanded, as Jane pursed her lips in annoyance.

"Get in." He ordered once again, and this time she did because Ace has a way of making people do what he wants.

--

Billy and Eyeball stumbled out of the Billiard Hall a couple seconds later, just in time to see Ace's tires squeal as the car drove into the distance.

"You asshole!" Eyeball bellowed at Billy. "Now we gotta walk home."


	2. I'm Not Ready to Take You Home

**All things in time…**

Written by: SadEyedLadyoftheLowlands

Chapter 2

The wind whipped through Jane's hair as she rode in the passenger seat beside, of all people in the world, Ace Merrill. She was even colder now. Ace was driving too fast, but she wasn't about to tell him that. She wasn't about to say anything. She didn't feel like it.

So it was Ace who broke the silence.

"So how do you like being a senior?" He asked, sounding almost serious, and glancing in her direction. Jane frowned, and looked up, eyeing Ace carefully.

"Are you serious?" She asked bitterly, slumping down in her seat. Ace snickered.

"Well I sure as hell am." He smiled, putting his arm around the back of her seat as he drove. Jane sighed and pulled at a loose thread on her sweater.

"You think you're a badass 'cause you're a high school dropout?" Jane remarked quietly, not looking up this time. "Well where are you gonna be in 10 years, John?" At the mention of his real name, Ace's sly demeanour turned sour. He removed his arm from the back of her seat and scowled.

"I forgot what a bitch you could be." Ace mused. "I don't need to be in that shithole...and i could give a flying fuck what you or any of those pansies think of me...one word from me and those assholes are dead." Jane sighed louder.

"What assholes, Ace?" she said. "You gonna beat the shit out of the whole town?" Ace broke into a smile.

"I don't need to. I own this town." Ace pulled over to the side of some dirt road. They were in the middle of nowhere.

"What are you doing?" She protested. "Are you gonna leave me here or something?" Jane said it like she almost didn't care. Ace laughed and leaned back in his seat. He looked amused.

"No. I'm not gonna leave you here, Jane." He paused. " I'm just not ready to drive you home yet." He reached for a cigarette, placed it in his mouth and lit it, looking out at deserted farmland.

The sun was almost setting, and Jane was a little frustrated. Bobby was waiting at home for her, and she promised she would watch him while her mother went to work.

"Ace." She prodded. He ignored her. "Ace." she said again with a little more emotion. "ACE!" Instead of starting the car, Ace opened the door, got out, and leaned up against the side.

"I have to watch Bobby." She continued. "He's home alone...you know I don't know why i accepted a ride from you, I must be out of my mind." Ace got back in the car and looked at her with a sympathetic look on his face, moving closer.

Then...

"You know you could be one hot piece of ass if you wanted to be" He said sneering at her. Jane simply rolled her eyes and looked away as he started up the engine and drove her home.

As they pulled up to Jane's driveway, Jane breathed a sigh of relief. Ace leaned over and opened the door for her.

"Well let's do this again sometime." He said, devoid of emotion. Jane exited the car and walk towards the worn down building she called her home. She turned to look back at Ace who was still sitting in his car watching her.

"What?" She antagonized in a sudden burst of frustration. He laughed.

"See you later, Jane." He said her name slowly and with emphasis, then pulled his car away at a fast speed.

Jane entered her house and called out for her brother. Instead she found her mother sitting at the kitchen table.

'Mom?" She asked surprised. "What are you doing home?" It was then that she noticed the half empty liquor bottle on the table. Her mother frowned.

"Where have you been?" She said angrily, standing up and leaning over the counter.

"I'm so sorry mom, i was taking a walk in town and lost track of time...Why aren't you at work."

Her mother laughed bitterly. "...Bob fired me..." she said, slurring a bit. Jane noticed her hair was a bit disheveled and her makeup was running.

"What? Why? You're the best waitress at that place! Why would he fire you?"

"He's an asshole, that's why." Her mother said matter of factly. "He didn't like what he heard about my reputation."

"Mom... I'm so sorry." Jane said despondently. A long silence filled the room. "You shouldn't be drinking."

"Oh, don't start that Janey." Jane's mother continued. "I'm not your father." Her mother glanced out the window and looked back at Jane.

"Am I hallucinating, or did that Merrill kid drive you home?" She asked, slightly confused.

"No. your eyes are fine." Jane answered reluctantly. "It was getting dark, and Ace was there."

"Ace? Is that what he calls himself?" Her mother continued. "I know all about him. He's a hoodlum, a criminal. You should stay away from him, if you know what's good for you."

Jane looked at her mother sadly. "Don't worry mom." She said quietly. "I'm not you." and went upstairs to her room.

As she was walking away her mother said:

"You know I always liked Denny. Now that was a nice young man."


	3. Broken Dishes and Broken Hearts

**All things in time…**

Written by: SadEyedLadyoftheLowlands

Author's Note: So wow! I have not written in a long time but I think i'll start writing regularly now and finish this story. I have inspiration! Here's the next chapter in Jane's saga.

P.S. There's some foul language in this chapter soo be warned.

Chapter 3

When Jane woke up the next morning, it was to the sounds of glasses and plates breaking downstairs in the kitchen. Her mother was yelling obscenities to no one in particular and Jane didn't want to face her.

Jane's little brother Bobby crept into her bedroom and seeing that she was awake jumped into the bed and snuggled against her. He was visibly shaken. Bobby was six and looked nothing like Jane, with fiery red hair and freckles. No- he took after his father, a man Jane vaguely remembered coming to the house once or twice when Jane was about 11. This was after her father took off one night, getting into his shit-box of a car never to be seen again.

Jane didn't remember ever being close to her father, someone she remembered as a burly, unshaven man who was constantly in trouble with the law. Still, the night Jane's father left had changed her irrevocably. Especially since her mother soon started sleeping with freckle faced Bob Parry who after knocking her up, quickly bowed out too.

As Jane whispered comforting words to her brother, she thought maybe her mother deserved this outburst. It was a bit overdue. The two waited for the noise to stop, and Jane quietly carried her brother downstairs. She set him on the couch, deciding he was getting pretty big for her to carry him and asked him to wait in the living room. When she entered the kitchen her mother was sitting on the floor staring at her hands, defeated.

"Mom?" Jane said tentatively, being careful not to step on the broken shards of glass and porcelain. Her mother didn't seem to register her presence.

"Mom!" She repeated, and then noticed the wound on her left hand which was bleeding profusely. " Oh my god!" She exclaimed and grabbed a dish towel putting pressure on the gash. Beatrice Myers gasped in pain slightly and looked up at her daughter.

"Where's your brother?" She asked quietly, suddenly embarrassed.

"Mom..." Jane sighed, and began to clean the cut. "You're bleeding! Bobby's sitting in the living room, waiting for his breakfast...which he can't eat because there are no dishes..." Jane realized looking sadly at the figure cowering against the kitchen counter. Jane went to get her mother a bandage, wrapped her hand in it and helped her mother up to sit in a chair. Beatrice looked around at the mess she made and put her head in her hands.

"Oh God, Jane..." she breathed. "I don't know what's wrong with me." Jane began sweeping the mess.

"I do." Jane said. "You just lost your job..."

"Oh, it's not just that and you know it." Beatrice exclaimed near tears. Jane knew, but she wasn't about to admit it. Her mother had never been emotionally stable, but they got by. They always got by. Jane swept the last of the broken shards into the garbage and glanced at the clock.

"Look mum... There's still a while before school starts, I can take Bobby to the diner to get breakfast, okay?" she paused, looking at Beatrice. "I'll use _my_ money okay? You should go back to bed and get some sleep and when I get home from school we'll go get some new dishes." Her mother hesitated and then sighed.

"Alright." She said, heading up the stairs. Jane quickly got ready for school, ushering Bobby who was reading a spy comic upstairs to do so too.

"C'mon, Bobby..." Jane smiled for the first time in a while at the sight of her brother engrossed in the story. " Go get ready as fast as you can, NOT forgetting to brush your teeth and we can go get breakfast at the diner!" The boy's face lit up and he dashed up the stairs, excitedly.

"Yippee!"

--

Jane noticed it was even chillier that day then the day before and bundled her and Bobby up tight, breaking out scarves and mittens. If it was this cold now, it was going to be a bitter winter. They entered the Blue Point Diner with about 40 minutes to spare until both the elementary and high school classes started so they had plenty of time. The diner was bustling with people of all ages seeking shelter from the chilly autumn temperatures and a plate of Castle Rock's finest toast and scrambled eggs. Bobby ran to the counter and jumped on a stool, grabbing a menu. Jane laughed softly, following him quietly, taking off her scarf and placing it on the counter.

Jane looked around the diner and spotted Marcia Peters, Janet Fredericks, Jack Beatty, and Stan Prince. She wanted to hide. She'd almost been friends with them once when she dated Denny. They hung in the same crowd: Marcia and Janet were cheerleaders and Jack and Stan were on the football team with Denny, so she'd see them at games and parties. She'd felt on top of the world. When Denny asked her out, suddenly everyone had wanted to talk to her, be around her. Before that, she had always felt invisible. Yes, they were almost her friends once, but that seemed like a lifetime ago, and as their laughter rang through the diner, Jane felt more alone than ever.

The bell on the front door rang as Susan Jones skipped excitedly through the diner to join them at their table. Now, Susan was actually her friend once. Susan had been her best friend and that hurt the most-- how the girl could walk right by her without so much as a glance. Sure, Susan was blonde and popular and said all the right things at the right time and Jane could be awkward sometimes and was at best, okay-looking, but that didn't mean she deserved to be forgotten like that. Jane guessed that Denny was the only person who had truly cared about her at school, but that was Denny for you. Jane had a feeling that Denny was the only person who cared about a lot of things. He had a big heart. It was then that Bobby tapped Jane excitedly and told her he wanted pancakes, sausage, and coffee.

"Coffee?" Jane laughed out loud. "Oh, Bobby, don't be silly. You don't want coffee. How about some OJ?"

"I want coffee!" Bobby said determinedly. " I've never had it before, and its what grownups drink, and I'm a grownup now." Jane smiled.

"Bobby, you won't like it, it's yucky." Jane made a face at Bobby and he laughed.

"Really? Then why does everyone drink it?"

"It's a Russian communist plot." Jane explained, jokingly, hoping Bobby would want some juice. Bobby's eyes went wide and he nodded.

"Oh..." he said, coming to a realization. "That makes sense... I better have the juice" Jane supposed he'd been reading too many spy novels and raised her eyebrows, laughing to herself. The two ordered their meals and waited at the counter.

--

Jane dropped off Bobby at school and told him she'd pick him up when it was through. He protested a little, saying he was old enough to walk home by himself but Jane insisted. She then made her way down the street to high school, admiring the piles of colourful leaves on the ground. Cars passed her as kids made their way to the stone building at the end of the street. Jane heard music coming from a car behind her. Fats Domino's voice came out of the speakers.

_You made me cry, when you said goodbye..._

_Ain't that a shame, my tears fell like rain_

_Ain't that a shame, you're the one to blame._

Jane liked this song, but it suddenly made her think of Denny, but everything made her think of Denny. That's when she noticed who was behind the wheel. The car slowed beside her and the driver yelled her name.

"Jane!" Ace Merrill exclaimed turning up his radio, instead of down. "Wanna go for a ride?" Ace laughed deeply, and Jane noticed Eyeball Chambers and Billy Tessio were his passengers. Jane considered ignoring him, but that never went well. The song on the radio changed to Tutti Fruiti. Jane turned sharply towards the car.

"Ace...I'm going to class. It's what normal people do. Just go rob a bank or something." Ace smirked and Billy and Eyeball moved to the music.

"Sorry, Jane. We did that yesterday, and there's only one bank in Castle Rock." Billy and Eyeball cracked up and Ace just continued smiling. "Why don't you just get in the car, Sweetheart?"

"Don't call me that, John." Jane knew he hated that name. "What do you want?" He cringed and turned back to the road.

"What is up your ass?" Ace said bitingly, bringing the car to a stop and jumping out. "I would think it would be refreshing to have someone of the opposite sex give you some attention. Or anyone give you attention for that matter." He said, hitting a nerve in Jane. "I don't see you out with your preppy buddies anymore. In fact, when I do happen to notice you you're usually all alone looking like a lost, " Ace reached out to touch her face, smirking, "little, lamb", he poked her on the tip of her nose and she gave him a strange look. Jane didn't know what to say. "C'mon, pumpkin" he said in a sickeningly sweet voice, filled with condescension, "come spend some time with the living instead of a corpse."

That's when Jane Myers lost her mind and slapped Ace Merrill across the face. The smack reverberated across the neighbourhood and she was pretty sure time stood still for a couple minutes as Ace realized what she had done. He brought his hand to his red cheek and grimaced. Jane braced herself for the worse possible outcome. She knew the horrible things he had done. She knew what he was capable of. But she also knew he was an asshole and deserved to be slapped that hard.

Ace stared at a wild-eyed Jane only a couple seconds longer, but it seemed like an eternity. She spoke.

"That was a horrible thing to say Ace." He laughed and startled her.

"It's always about Fucking Denny. Blah Blah Blah...the guy's dead and he's still all people talk about" She wanted to cry.

"Fuck you!" She yelled and stared right at him. He chuckled softly again.

"No...fuck you, Jane. You just fucking hit me. Nobody..._nobody _hits Ace Merrill"

"Nobody, John?" She questioned "That's not what I've heard at the old Merrill residence." She turned on her heel and went up the steps to school as the bell rang. Ace just stood there, watching her.

That's when Ace Merrill knew he was in trouble, because if anyone else had slapped him in the face he would have broken their neck. If anyone else had brought up his father he would have made them live to regret it. But this was Jane, and for some reason he didn't want to hurt her. And that scared Ace more than you could ever know.

"What the fuck was that man?" Eyeball yelled. "You just let her go after that?" Ace snapped.

"Shut your fucking mouth Chambers...I know a place where they'd never find your body so I'd be quiet if I were you." Ace climbed into the driver's seat and sped away as Jane sat in homeroom, pondering what she had just done.

"Hey Jane." A female voice called to her from behind. "I wanted to talk to you."


End file.
